It seems that exploding iPhones might be like girls on the arm of Charlie Sheen. You don't see one for months and then two come along at once.

After an iPhone on an Australian plane last week began to smoke and sizzle as the flight came into land, a report from Brazil suggests that a charging iPhone almost caused its owner to charge to the ER.

I am grateful to Mashable for its diligent reading of Brazilian news reports that might just cause a troubling tinnitus in the ears of Apple devotees.

For, in this case, the iPhone was reportedly charging by the bedside of its owner, Ayla Mota, when it allegedly began to emit sparks.

The burned up iPhone 4 in Brazil.
Blogdoiphone.com

Mota reportedly said she was sleeping just inches from her phone--15 centimeters, she measured with some care. Woken by the sudden fizzing by her face, she saw her room was full of smoke.

The culprit, she said, was her charging iPhone, pictures of which seem to show that it was adorned by a purpley-blue bumper.

The Brazilian report on the blog Techtudo suggested that Mota wasn't sure where to go with her exploding iPhone, as it was bought in France and in Brazil, only units bought there are covered by the guarantee.

Naturally, one hopes there won't be a third incendiary incident any time soon, as this might cause panicked reactions, with the world's stock markets crashing and the dollar reduced to the value of an old groat.

Currently, though, the suspect in cases such as this is the battery. Apple itself has not commented thus far, but I have contacted the company again to seek a word or two of wisdom.

In the meantime, perhaps a safe precaution might be to not sleep with your face 15 or even 30 centimeters from a charging (or even stationary) iPhone.

I have, as an additional precaution, asked a couple of friends who are into astrology whether the last eight days have enjoyed some sort of cosmic disturbance that might have caused two such incidents.

Thus far, they have only mumbled something about the sun moving into Sagittarius (a good thing) and the moon still being full in Gemini (a bad thing) before moving into Leo (a good thing).

Of course it could well be they have no idea what they're talking about.

About the author

Chris Matyszczyk is an award-winning creative director who advises major corporations on content creation and marketing. He brings an irreverent, sarcastic, and sometimes ironic voice to the tech world.
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